New monsters, old fun with Pokémon White and Pokémon Black

OTTAWA — Those weird and fuzzy little critters are back and this time there are more of them than ever.

Pokémon White and Pokémon Black, which are actually two different versions of the same game, return gamers to the world of Pokémon to renew the love of capturing, trading and battling the little critters. Each of the games contains areas, levels and Pokémon that are unique to that title. For example, only players playing the Black version can capture Reshiram, a massively powerful Pokémon of legend. Those playing the White can grab the legendary Zekrom.

The storyline sets the player out on a quest to collect the little beasts and become the best Pokémon trainer in the world. It’s ridiculous, but that’s what makes it fun.

The entire Pokémon series is based back in the days when Dungeons and Dragons and hockey card collecting were favourite pastimes. There are hundreds of little monsters hiding throughout the virtual world and players must find them and engage in head-to-head competition.

To catch the various Pokémon, players have to battle and wear them down in order to catch the creatures using a tool called a Pokéball. The creature then becomes a companion and will fight alongside the player as they battle their way through the virtual world.

Each creature has its own strengths and weakness. Fire-type Pokémon are particularly effective against plant-type Pokémon, but are of little use against the water-type variety. The variation adds a hint of strategy to the title that helps to keep things interesting.

Pokémon Black and Pokémon White may not win game of the year, but the simple game play and storyline will appeal to all fans of the role-playing game genre. Players who are new to the franchise will likely find they quickly become obsessed with collecting the strange creatures in the virtual world.

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